Like a Bird, Like a Snow Cone
by greengirlblue
Summary: Cute and (hopefully) insightful stories of Tohru and her friends after graduation. Based on the anime. Perpetually unfinished, but fun reads.
1. Soap Bubble Popped

Chapter One: Soap Bubble Popped  
  
Tohru Honda was too shocked to know how she felt.  
  
Maybe what she felt was nervousness, or anxiety, or maybe...  
  
"Hey, Miss Honda, we're supposed to stand up," the person next to her whispered.  
  
"Oh! Right!"  
  
Tohru stood a little too abruptly, and all the blood rushed from her head down to somewhere below her knees. She wobbled slightly and followed the person beside her with almost mechanical steps, like an unbalanced tin soldier.  
  
Terrified. That must be the feeling. How else could she describe the motion of her heart: the way it fluttered like a bird against its cage one moment and froze like a snow cone the next. It was all very confusing and stressful.  
  
"You okay?" asked one of the supervisors as he walked over and gave Tohru a quick scan, making sure that her gown and hat were on straight. Tohru recognized him as one of the art teachers, even though she had never taken art as a class in any of her years at school.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine," Tohru smiled. "Just a little nervous."  
  
The art teacher smiled back. "That's to be expected, I suppose."  
  
"Yes." Tohru ducked her head slightly with embarrassment, and the art teacher moved on to help a student whose hat had fallen off.  
  
As she stood waiting in line to walk on the stage, Tohru became aware of another feeling. She felt as though she were dreaming, she decided after a moment of contemplation, like everything going on around her was unreal.  
  
"Oh, Mom," she thought. "I worked so hard for this, and now I find it so difficult to believe that I've finally made it here."  
  
Here. Graduation Day. Tohru desperately needed something to put her hand on to steady herself as a wave of disbelief swam over her.  
  
"Hanajima Saki," called a voice from the stage. Tohru jerked her head up and saw Hana walk gracefully across the stage, somehow able to make her gown billow out dramatically from a phantom wind. Amazing.  
  
And terror and surrealism were pushed aside as Tohru wondered how she herself would look up there when her time came. Certainly not mysterious like Hana. With her luck, she'd probably trip flat on her face! How had she let Uo talk her into wearing high heels?  
  
"Happyaku Touya."  
  
Happyaku? So far through the alphabet? It wouldn't be much longer before 'Honda Tohru' would be called.  
  
Tohru self-consciously lifted her hand up to pat at her hair, which was hard since her hat covered her head. So instead, she dropped her hand a few inches and played with the tip of one of her braids, twirling it around her finger.  
  
"Hirohito Rika."  
  
Ugh, there came the terror again as Tohru took a few steps forward in line. Her finger wound around her hair faster and in tighter circles until it was all tangled up in the hair ribbon.  
  
"Oopsies," she thought, mentally laughing at herself as she untangled the yellow ribbon from her finger.  
  
"Hiroyuki Tanaka."  
  
The yellow ribbon from Yuki.  
  
Tohru almost did laugh at herself out loud for being so silly, but she stifled it in time. Yuki was here too, waiting for his name to be called. Was he nervous, too? And poor Kyo! He had looked panicked when she'd seen him last, now that she looked back on it. Even Shigure had been acting somewhat disheveled as he hurried his three housemates, saying "You're going to be late if you don't hurry!"  
  
"Hobiru Michiko."  
  
Tohru wasn't the only one who was nervous, and somehow, it gave her comfort.  
  
Not that she wanted the others to be nervous! Oh no, she shouldn't feel comforted by that; she wanted them to be excited, just like they should! They were graduating, after all, and you should be happy about graduating!  
  
"Honda Tohru."  
  
Tohru froze.  
  
"Wh-wh-what?"  
  
"That's you, get moving!" exclaimed the person next in line. He gave her an impatient push, sending her forward. Lucky for her, she caught herself before she tripped on the first stair that led up to the stage.  
  
Tohru was graduating from high school, just like she promised her mother those years ago.  
  
"I need you to stick with it," Tohru heard her mother's voice say in her mind. "So you can tell me what it feels like to hold that diploma in your hand."  
  
Tohru took a deep, steadying breath and placed her right foot on the first step. Sure she wasn't going to slip or fall through the stair, she shifted her weight on it, lifted her left foot, and placed it on the next step.  
  
"See," she thought to herself. "It's not so hard. Just a little further."  
  
Of course, the moment she thought that, the steps seemed to grow in height, and the stage seemed to stretch on forever, the stack of diplomas a tiny speck on the horizon.  
  
"Just keep walking," she told herself calmly. "It's within reach."  
  
One step turned into two, into three, into four. She stopped counting, realizing that a small, timid smiled was forcing its way on her lips. It really wasn't that far at all.  
  
There was a woman holding the diploma out to her. Without thinking, Tohru reached at it with one hand and shook the woman's hand with the other. She played a game of connect the dots by making a line to the next person, shaking his hand, to the next person, shaking his hand, to the next person, shaking her hand, and then she was walking towards the other side of the stage.  
  
Huh? Did she miss something? No, they were already calling the next person's name.  
  
Someone guided her by the shoulders to the side and told her to stand still while they took the shot. Took the shot?  
  
Poof! Oh, they were taking her graduation picture.  
  
Then she was guided away from the photographer and given a light push towards her seat. She caught the eye of Uo, who winked at her, but Tohru was still in shock and couldn't remember the correct way to respond to a wink, if there was one at all.  
  
She sat down, blinking. The rest of the ceremony was a blur, except that she distinctly remembered cheering for Kyo, Yuki and Uo when they went up on stage to take their diplomas, and also remembered feeling guilty for not cheering on Hana earlier. She zoned out for the rest of the ceremony, and the person who had tried to shove her onstage had to elbow her in the ribs to get her to stand up at the recessional.  
  
"How does it feel like to finally have graduated?" Shigure asked Tohru when they'd met up again, wiping away an imaginary tear on his cheek. Or at least, it was supposed to be imaginary.  
  
"She's still in shock," Yuki said as her reply.  
  
Kyo waved a hand in front of Tohru's face to illustrate. She didn't even blink.  
  
"I guess it takes time to sink in," Shigure shrugged, grinning and wiping another imaginary tear. He was about to have an imaginary sob fest, but Tohru finally blinked.  
  
Call it delayed reaction.  
  
Looking first at Shigure, who was standing right in front of her, then to either side of her to Kyo and Yuki, she blinked again and held out her diploma in front of her.  
  
What did it feel like to finally hold this diploma in her hands?  
  
"Hey Tohru, Orange-Top, Prince," called Uo. She stopped next to Shigure, giving him a look that probably reflected her negative thoughts on what kind of novelist he was before turning to Tohru. Hana, who'd been following close behind, stood next to her.  
  
"I'm in shock," Hana said quietly, trying to instigate a conversation.  
  
"Yeah, that Orange-Top here actually graduated," Uo said at the exact same time Yuki said, "Yes, that this idiot actually graduated."  
  
"What'd you say?" Kyo asked, bristling at the two of them, who were both smirking.  
  
Shigure wanted to point out that they looked ridiculous arguing in their graduation gowns, but he was too busy wiping away an imaginary flood of tears and instead choked out, "My little babies are all grown up!"  
  
Uo, Hana, Kyo, and Yuki all turned to look at him.  
  
"What's your problem?" Kyo barked.  
  
Shigure was instantly all grins and smiles. "You know, I invited Hatori and Ayame to watch the graduation, so I'd better go find them. You five talk amongst yourselves until I get back."  
  
And, with a shake of his hand, Shigure scampered off, hoping that one of them carried a box of Kleenex's.  
  
"Hey," Uo called after him.  
  
"What?" he asked, stopping mid stride.  
  
"I thought I saw Tohru's grandfather in the crowd, so why don't you see if you can find him, too, while you're at it?"  
  
"Sure thing, no problem," Shigure said easily, walking away quickly as though he hadn't stopped.  
  
"Something's wrong with Tohru?" Hana asked.  
  
"She's in shock," Yuki said again.  
  
"Been like this since we met up," Kyo added.  
  
"It's because of the diploma," Hana mused outloud.  
  
"The diploma?" Kyo spat. "It's a stupid piece of paper, so what?"  
  
"Didn't she tell you what her goal was for school, or did you just not listen?" Uo asked, her arms crossed as she gave Kyo her most deadly glare.  
  
"Shut up, Yankee! I don't care about a stupid diploma."  
  
"But she did," Hana said, interrupting any further rants from Kyo.  
  
Yuki tilted his head to look at Tohru. She was still lost in la la land.  
  
"You said you promised your mother that you'd finish high school," he said, not really caring if Tohru could hear him or not, "that first week you lived with us."  
  
All eyes turned back on Tohru.  
  
"Damnit, Tohru!" Kyo shouted. "Snap out of it already!"  
  
"Eh?"  
  
Tohru looked over at Kyo.  
  
"Oh," Tohru said sheepishly. "Did I zone out again?"  
  
But Kyo didn't hear her, because Uo had smacked the back of his head.  
  
"How dare you yell at Tohru like that!"  
  
"It's her fault! She was ignoring us!"  
  
Hana put a hand to her forehead. "You're electrical signals are giving me a headache.  
  
Yuki hadn't stopped looking at Tohru.  
  
"Are you all right, Miss Honda?"  
  
Tohru smiled warmly.  
  
"Yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking."  
  
"About what?" asked Uo, pulling herself away from her argument with Kyo. Kyo reluctantly did the same.  
  
"I was just thinking," Tohru said, hugging the diploma against her chest and looking at her friends. "I was just thinking how lucky I am, and how grateful... and how happy I feel right now."  
  
@ @ @ @ swirly majigger page break! @ @ @ @  
  
A note to die-hard Japanese/ anime fans: I don't have any idea how graduation ceremonies in Japan work, nor am I sure how they alphabetize, nor do I know much about common last names. So, if you're offended that I portrayed a graduation that was, in your eyes, wholly Americanized, I'm sorry.  
  
To everyone, die-hard fans or not: Love it? Hate it? Feel indifferent towards it, or feel insulted by my apparent ignorance of the grammar/spell check button? Please take out twenty-two seconds of your day to write me why! I'd appreciate it very much. Thank you for taking the time to read my story, especially to those who choose to review it! 


	2. Juvenile Winter Century

Chapter 2: Juvenile Winter Century  
  
Shigure hadn't come back from his visit with Ayame and Hatori. Instead, he had sent a note with Tohru's grandfather to give to Yuki. After Yuki and Kyo fought over the note for five or so minutes, Kyo ended up with the bottom left hand corner and Uo ended up with the rest.  
  
She read it out loud:  
  
"Off celebrating and reminiscing. Don't wait up. Signed, you're dashingly handsome and wonderful brother and two cousins, Ayame, Shigure, and Hatori. XOXOXO (heart star smiley face). P.S. If Mii comes around the house, tell her that Shigure has fled the country for political reasons and will be back next Tuesday. He'll be back tonight."  
  
"Brother?" Hana asked.  
  
"That's right," Tohru said, smiling. "Ayame is Yuki's older brother."  
  
"I see," Hana replied, shooting a look at Yuki like an arrow. "I wonder why we haven't been introduced."  
  
Yuki looked transfixed by her glance.  
  
"Ah... well... we're..."  
  
"Look, my brother is here to pick me up," Hana said coolly, pointing over his shoulder. Yuki paled, looking around at Megumi. He'd met him before, once. Megumi only knew Yuki as the Prince, thanks to Uo, and Yuki intended to keep it that way.  
  
Meanwhile, Tohru's grandfather was talking to Tohru.  
  
"Are you ready to go?" he asked.  
  
"Go where?" Uo questioned.  
  
"Ah, my grandfather was planning a Happy Graduation and Congratulations Party for me," Tohru said, blushing a little. "He's invited all of my relatives."  
  
Speaking off the record, he'd somehow managed to blackmail, guilt trip, and trick every single Honda relative within the 12-kilometer radius into coming. Even after the dinner got started, Tohru's great uncle twice removed was still convinced that he was at a funeral party for Tohru's third-cousin-by-marriage's toy poodle.  
  
"Sounds like fun," Uo grinned.  
  
"I'm very proud of her," her grandfather said, smiling.  
  
Tohru would have said something sincerely humble if she hadn't been blushing so furiously.  
  
"What about our dinner?" Kyo asked. Before Uo could do it for him, Kyo smacked his forehead. "No, wait, I didn't mean it like that."  
  
"There's leek soup in the refrigerator," Tohru said helpfully.  
  
"Leek soup?" Kyo snapped.  
  
"Oh, no, I forgot you don't like leeks again! I'm sorry, Kyo!"  
  
Kyo panicked slightly as he tried to come up with an apology without actually apologizing.  
  
It was an hour later when Kyo and Yuki were standing in front of a perfectly ordinary door of a perfectly ordinary house.  
  
Ah, but looks are deceiving, are they not?  
  
"What were you on when you agreed to this?" Kyo whispered as he shuffled his feet in a very un-Kyo-like fashion.  
  
"I didn't see you make any argument against it," Yuki hissed back.  
  
"You're the smart-ass rat! You could've come up with an excuse!"  
  
"Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?"  
  
"You think you're so fucking much smarter than everyone else, don't you?!"  
  
"It's not that hard being smarter than you. A lima bean has more brains."  
  
"You damn-!"  
  
And at that very moment, the door opened.  
  
Yuki and Kyo felt their blood freeze in their veins as they both turned their heads slowly to meet the dark eyes of...  
  
"Oh, so you made it on time," Hana said, her voice the usual monotone it always was. "I thought I recognized those electrical signals, but why didn't you knock?"  
  
"Uhm..." Yuki heard himself say. Kyo, on the other hand, just had his mouth open in an expression of horror.  
  
Somehow, Yuki had agreed to come to Hana's house for a Happy Graduation Party. Yuki had said "yes" in some part of his conversation with Hana and Megumi, and Hana had said, "Then I'll see you and Kyo tonight at six."  
  
The sight of a hand clapping down on Hana's shoulder came into the view in the open doorframe before the rest of Uo showed up.  
  
"They probably tried to ring the doorbell," Uo said in a careless tone.  
  
"Ah, yes. That must be it," Hana said, turning and breaking her stare on the two hapless boys. "I forgot to mention that the doorbell doesn't work. Something... odd happened to it."  
  
"Something... odd?" Kyo and Yuki thought at the exact same time. They're hearts both skipped a beat at the exact same time, as well, and both had to fight urges to run off. The last on the list happened at different times only because Kyo first thought of pushing Yuki towards the door as a decoy before dashing off. If he couldn't beat the rat, maybe electrogirl could do it for him.  
  
"Are you two coming in or what?" Uo sighed. "Honestly, the food is getting cold. Hell, I'm getting cold. Isn't it supposed to be almost summer?"  
  
"Yes, it does seem quite cold for this time of year," Hana replied.  
  
"I heard there was an odd weather condition over the Pacific," Yuki offered tentatively. Years of acting polite had turned into second nature, and it was very helpful in times like this.  
  
"Is there?" Hana asked.  
  
"Yes. And it causes strange weather patterns in many coastal countries."  
  
"How interesting," Hana said, not sounding interested at all.  
  
"Oh, please, we're not going to stand here and talk about the weather, are we?" Uo interrupted impatiently, pulling Hana out of the entrance hall with one hand and trying to do the same to Kyo. "This is a graduation party, dammit, and we're supposed to go wild! And take off those crappy shoes, Carrots. You want to track in all that mud on the carpet?"  
  
"Crappy shoes?" Kyo asked, snapping out of his mute state. "What the hell are you talking about? And take you're damn hands off me, Yankee!"  
  
"What's wrong with my hands?"  
  
"I just don't like them. You gotta problem with that?"  
  
Hana held a hand up to her forehead.  
  
"You're squabbling is giving me a headache again," she sighed before shuffling off down the hall. Her dress swept back behind her dramatically in an-  
  
"Oh," Yuki gasped in spite of himself. Even though it was a very small "oh!," Uo and Kyo turned to look at him. It wasn't everyday that Yuki Sohma dropped his usual composure to reveal mild shock. Even Hana seemed to sense it and turned to look.  
  
Then again, she would sense that, wouldn't she?  
  
"Is something wrong?" she asked coolly.  
  
"Ah... no. No, nothing." Yuki said, feeling slightly abashed by the sudden silence and, more pointedly, everyone's stares.  
  
Kyo looked at Yuki, at Uo, and then at Hana.  
  
His eyebrows shot up on his forehead.  
  
"It's pink!" he exclaimed.  
  
All stares were now directed at Kyo, who bristled in response.  
  
Then Hana laughed.  
  
All stares shot towards her. Hana? Laughing?  
  
"Yes, it is," Hana replied, patting down the hem of her NOT black, but PINK dress.  
  
Kyo and Yuki stared open-mouthed.  
  
"Tohru, Hana and me all went shopping for graduation clothes, remember?" Uo said in an informative tone. "Since none of us really found anything we liked, we all bought clothes we would never be caught dead in. That's why Hana's wearing a pink dress..."  
  
"And why Uo is wearing a pair of jeans," Hana finished.  
  
Both boys turned their head and stared. Yep, yep. She was wearing jeans, that she was.  
  
"And what did Tohru wear, a clown nose?" Kyo asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall.  
  
"You didn't notice the clown nose?" Uo asked in surprise.  
  
"Huh? She really-?!"  
  
"She was wearing high heels," Yuki said calmly.  
  
"Ten points for the Prince," Uo grinned. "You noticed."  
  
"Well, she tripped on them when we were leaving the house."  
  
Tripped, fell forward, hugged Kyo. They were ten minutes late because of that, and Kyo's clothes still had some orange fur clinging to them.  
  
"Yeah," Uo chuckled, brushing her hair back from her face, "I was afraid she might trip onstage. Was so worried I almost called her up this morning."  
  
"You know," Hana said, taking a step towards Uo and company. "There's still the food getting cold."  
  
Uo brightened. "Oh yeah. Man, I'm starved. You're brother made dessert, didn't he?"  
  
"You're brother's here?" Yuki and Kyo cried in stereo.  
  
"Well, he lives here, you know," Uo said, brushing back the hair from her face.  
  
Hana turned. "Yes. He's been very eager to see you again, Kyo, Yuki."  
  
The hair on the back of both Yuki and Kyo's necks stood up on end.  
  
$$$$$ give me da money page break! $$$$$  
  
I wasn't really planning on this story to be more than one chapter, but then I began to wonder a little bit about how it would continue.  
  
I really encourage you to review because it really does help me write better. Reviews point out mistakes I make, reviews give me ideas, and they give me motivation.  
  
So please, please, pretty please review?  
  
Thank you oh so very muches:  
  
Thank you so much for reviewing, Sailor Panda! I've read and enjoyed many stories written by you, and I'm very flattered that you liked Tohru's in- characterness in the first chapter.  
  
Thanks also to Eilowny! I'm glad you thought it was cute since cute was what I was going for. I'm also pleased that I wrote the scene in such a way that it reminds you of your own graduation.  
  
Thank you, Zahnegirl. It was you're review which prompted me to wonder what would happen next. What is Tohru going to do now that she's got that diploma? I wonder what Kyo and Yuki will do now, too. This'll be fun to write, so I hope you'll continue to read and enjoy future chapters.  
  
Double thanks to Lethe! I feel like I have a fan, and it's going to my head. I actually wrote this chapter before I saw the second DVD, but methinks that Hana either aced all of those make-up exams or scared her teachers into giving her passing marks. Whichever is more interesting or imaginative.  
  
Thank you to ginny, as well, not only for writing a review for this story, but for my other two. I'm glad you like my crazy writing, and I'm so happy that you think that Tohru and company were perfectly in character.  
  
Thanks to Zeheria. You're review helped me with the first paragraph. I like the idea of Tohru's grandfather forcing his relatives to acknowledge Tohru's accomplishments. As for what will happen next... either I don't know or won't tell you!  
  
Thank you to hopeless. I'm glad you reviewed! I think Tohru's still in shock, but I will definitely try to remember to address the feeling of losing the feeling of school community. 


	3. My Umbrella Song

Wow! Look! I'm actually writing something that needs a warning! (*sniff* so proud...) Then again, I should think you would already know the nature of Shigure and Ayame's sense of humor, so the warning is kind of pointless if you've watched the anime. I may be hypersensitive on this point, but... look! I'm actually writing something that needs a warning!  
  
Please read! Warnings: (made as politically correct as possible) If you may be offended by either a) suggested male x male relationships, b) joking about male x male relationships, c) someone taking offense for suggested male x male/incest relationships, d) someone not taking offense for suggested male x male/incest relationships, umm... d) suggested Yuki x Tohru relationships (aw, how cute!), or e) suggested near death experience with a carton of milk... be warned. Please remember that this story is in good fun, and it is not meant to offend anybody.  
  
I'm not flame resistant (more like flammable!), and I'd rather not get any angry reviews in all caps, especially when there's a warning. I do hope, though, that the warning was unnecessary.  
  
Chapter three: My Umbrella Song  
  
Tohru had fallen asleep on the train and was in danger of semi- hugging Yuki; her head was already resting precariously close to his shoulder. Even so, Yuki didn't have the heart to wake her. Instead, he kept changing his line of vision from the window blurred with rain, then back Tohru. When her head actually reclined enough to actually be on his shoulder, then he'd do something about it.  
  
Where were they traveling to via train? Well, if Momiji had been on this trip, which he wasn't, he would have called it "The Fun Visit to Yuki's College Before College Actually Starts" trip. Yuki had been accepted into the University of Jujiro and would be moving into the dorms in four months. Before that, however, Yuki said he wanted to visit and see what the campus was like. Shigure agreed and said, after wiping away yet another imaginary tear, that it would be nice if they all went, and that way, they would know where to find Yuki should they visit.  
  
In the seat across the aisle, Shigure was reading a magazine article about a subject that was't exactly tasteful:  
  
"How to Make Cow Brain Soup."  
  
The paragraph he was looking at was talking about how one should not boil the soup too long lest it burned. Okay, okay, he was only pretending to read it, in actuality. What he was really doing was stealing glances at Yuki and Tohru. How sweet! There must be someway to use "young love" as a conversation starter with the woman sitting next to him.  
  
Yuki felt Tohru's head hit his shoulder.  
  
Well, if she was really that tired... he would just wake her up if she leaned too far over their armrest.  
  
Kyo had decided not to accompany Yuki, Shigure and Tohru on their trip. There were two reasons:  
  
1. "Why the hell should I go to see that damned rat's college? It's not like I'm going to visit him or anything."  
  
2. The strange weather conditions in the Pacific Ocean had caused almost a full week of rain in most parts of Japan, and Kyo had barely managed to make it down the stairs to give that little speech.  
  
Tohru had wanted to stay home and take care of Kyo, but five minutes of wheedling from Shigure, lackluster yelling from Kyo and a silent, and pleading looks from Yuki finally dragged Tohru from the house.  
  
"The train will be arriving at the Kikuzen Station in about two minutes. If this is your stop, please get ready to exit."  
  
Shigure jumped to his feet. "That's us! Yuki, would you be so kind as to wake up your dear little flower?"  
  
Yuki found himself blushing. He hadn't even considered what he and Tohru looked like to an outsider, and it irritated him that what Shigure had insinuated was slightly embarrassing.  
  
"Miss Honda," he said, sitting up slightly.  
  
Tohru opened her eyes. It took her several seconds to register where she was.  
  
"Oh!" she exclaimed, realizing that she was resting against Yuki's shoulder. "I'm sor-"  
  
BAM! The side of Tohru's head hit Yuki's chin when she had bolted up.  
  
"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry, Yuki! I didn't even think! Are you okay? Are you hurt? I'm sorry! Oh, Yuki, I'm so sorry!"  
  
If that wasn't drawing the other passengers' attentions, Shigure's laughing and pointing did.  
  
"No, Miss Honda, I'm fine. I should be asking if you're okay."  
  
"I'm fine, really, but-"  
  
"Well, if you're both okay," Shigure interrupted, pointing down the aisle to the doors, "then we can go ahead and get to our exits, right?"  
  
"Oh?" Tohru asked, turning to look out the window. "We're here?"  
  
Meanwhile:  
  
Kyo was only standing upright because he was propped up against the refrigerator door. Once he'd managed that, it took him a few moments to remember why he was there in the first place. Was it lunch or dinnertime?  
  
Actually, who really gave a damn? Kyo thought as he grabbed the carton of milk.  
  
And back to the rest of the party:  
  
"Yuki, my darling younger brother!"  
  
Yuki's eyes shot up to see a talking red umbrella with gold tassels running his way. Then he turned to glare daggers at Shigure.  
  
"What is he doing here?"  
  
"Well, he didn't get to meet up with you at the graduation," Shigure said, smiling as best as he could under Yuki's glare, "so I told him we were coming here."  
  
"Wow. Ayame must really care about you to come so far," Tohru said, a bit too brightly.  
  
"He should have gone farther," Yuki mumbled under his breath. "Like to Antartica."  
  
"Darling Yuki, I'm so glad to see you!" Ayame cried happily from under his umbrella. "Give your wonderful older and wiser brother a hug."  
  
"Touch me and I'll give you more than a hug," Yuki growled. He held the handle of his own umbrella as though it was a baseball bat.  
  
"I knew you would choose to come to this university, of course," Ayame continued blithely, though he did keep his distance.  
  
"Don't tell me you-"  
  
"Yes! I did. Hatori and Shigure and myself all went to this school, but you already knew that, didn't you? You have looked to me for guidance, have you not, and now follow in my footsteps, dearest younger brother!"  
  
Yuki turned around and started walking in the opposite direction of Ayame.  
  
"Yuki," Tohru called after him, "where are you going?"  
  
"I'm going to the registrar's office so I can drop out."  
  
"But-!"  
  
Ayame, seemingly not noticing his brother's hasty departure, turned to Shigure. "And Shigure! It's been too long. Did you think of me often since we saw each other last?"  
  
"Ayame! I couldn't get the visions of you that night out of my head!"  
  
"Shigure!" Ayame cried dramatically, dropping his umbrella as he ran towards the man in question, his long hair fluttering behind with drops of rain glittering in its silky tresses.  
  
"Ayame!" Shigure cried just as dramatically, dropping his own umbrella as well, placing one hand to his heart and reaching the other out to Ayame.  
  
Just before the two embraced, they stopped and gave each other a thumbs up.  
  
Meanwhile:  
  
Kyo was drowning in milk. Well, no, not really, but a good amount of it had gone up his nose when he had tipped his head too far back. He was now draped over the kitchen sink, spluttering and sneezing profusely.  
  
He was infinitely glad no one had seen him at the mercy of a milk carton.  
  
And back to the party again:  
  
Of course, Yuki hadn't really gone to the registrar's office, but he did go off for a good ten minutes before coming back. By that time, Shigure and Ayame were running like mad men all over campus, pointing out buildings and walkways and asking questions to the hapless college student who was just walking by minding his or her own business. Yuki and Tohru lagged farther and farther behind.  
  
"I suppose it must be a good school if Hatori came here," Yuki admitted to Tohru quietly, sure now that the older men were out of earshot. "I can't imagine that he would've gone here if it wasn't."  
  
"I guess that's right," Tohru agreed. "By the way, Yuki, I haven't asked you yet, but what exactly are you majoring in?"  
  
"Uhm, well..." Yuki shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably. "Actually, I was interested in... becoming the next doctor for the ones with the Zodiac curse."  
  
"A doctor?" Tohru asked.  
  
"Yes, I know it's a little silly, I don't know anything about-"  
  
"Wow, a doctor!" Tohru exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Wow, Yuki, that's so great! You'd be able to help Kyo and Momiji and Hatsuharu and Kisa and everyone get better if they got sick, and Hatori would get a doctor for himself, too, wouldn't he?"  
  
"Well, yes, I suppose, but..." Yuki paused, then sighed. "I'm just thinking about it. I'm not really sure, yet."  
  
"I'm sure you would make a wonderful doctor, Yuki," Tohru said encouragingly.  
  
The two walked in silence for a moment before Yuki turned and asked, "But what about you?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You enrolled in the community college, didn't you?" Yuki asked.  
  
"Um, well... yes. I did." Tohru shrugged self-consciously. "I'm not exactly sure why. I mean, I can make enough money working as a janitor to get my own apartment now, I suppose, but I..." She flushed bright red. "I'm not sure I want to work cleaning offices for the rest of my life. And then Shigure said-"  
  
"Shigure?" Yuki interrupted.  
  
Tohru nodded. "Yes. He said that if I kept cooking and cleaning for him that he would pay for me to take classes."  
  
Yuki blinked.  
  
"It's really too nice of him," Tohru exclaimed, shaking her head as if Shigure's excess kindness would fling off her hair like water. "I don't know if I could accept something like that; the classes are so expensive! And what if I were to flunk out? What if I did really well but didn't find anything to major in?"  
  
"I think you should go," Yuki said without hesitation.  
  
She would still be there. She would still be home.  
  
"What are my darling brother and his adorable friend discussing?" Ayame yelled from the other end of the block.  
  
Yuki's expression dropped into a frown. He'd completely forgotten that Ayame and Shigure were still here.  
  
"Dearest Ayame," Shigure said in an overly dramatic and unreasonably loud stage-whisper, "don't look at your brother so. You make me jealous."  
  
"Don't get me involved with your perverted games!" Yuki shouted as Shigure and Ayame twittered. Tohru looked confused for a moment before dismissing it. The group of college students looked confused for a moment before they all suddenly remembered various projects that were due between 4:00 and 4:05.  
  
Ayame wouldn't let Yuki out of his sight after that, so Yuki and Tohru learned of abut 50 stunts he and Shigure had pulled in their youth. After that, they learned of the 50 ways Hatori had pulled Ayame and Shigure out of punishment. Just as Ayame was about to launch into story #51, Shigure saw a teacher from story # 37 and decided that they should leave immediately.  
  
After eating lunch at an ice cream parlor, Shigure, Yuki and Tohru left to catch the train.  
  
"I shall not be complete until we are together again!" Ayame called after Shigure.  
  
"We must be content of being one mind and spirit until we are again one in-!"  
  
Yuki didn't let Shigure finish that sentence.  
  
Meanwhile:  
  
Kyo was staring at the phone.  
  
He was not going to call Hatori. He wasn't sick. He was just tired.  
  
BOOMPH!  
  
...  
  
Kyo was staring at the phone.  
  
He should call Hatori, but he couldn't. His paws were too big to dial the number.  
  
Damn.  
  
Back to the rest of the party:  
  
Yuki blinked blearily and leaned far back in his seat.  
  
"Are you okay, Yuki?" Tohru asked as she sat down next to him.  
  
"Just tired," he said.  
  
When the train arrived back home, it was Tohru's turn to wake up Yuki. He'd fallen asleep on her shoulder.  
  
%%% high percentage page break! %%%  
  
I didn't offend anybody, right?  
  
Names of cities and train stops and universities have been completely made up by me and are not supposed to represent any real place. The names were gibberish as far as I know. However, if you see that I have indeed named a real place, feel free to give me money for advertising.  
  
Also! I don't know how colleges in Japan work. So... I'm basing all of my knowledge of Yuki's university on what I know of U.S. universities, which still isn't saying much. Oh well... you know...  
  
One more thing! For some reason or another, the quotation marks and apostrophes were coming up all funky like when I uploaded this story. In order to avoid said funkiness, I turned off the "smart quotes" on Microsoft Word and had to re-enter all the quotations and apostrophes. If I missed something, I'm sorry, and please feel free to point out where they are in reviews or by e-mailing me directly. My e-mail address is in my profile. Thanks!  
  
Gratefulness:  
  
Thank you to ginny, again! I'm so glad you like it so far and find it interesting.  
  
Thank you also to Sailor Hylia. You're ideas are interesting but may make the plot a little too complicated to write! However, if there's a way, I'll try my best to find it! It does sound most intriguing... but I can't promise anything.  
  
To Blushing Sigh. Thank you for the reviews and the smiley face!  
  
Thank you to annonymouse (wow! what a cute name!). I'm glad you found the story funny and that you liked it.  
  
Thank you very much to Lethe! You're support is always appreciated, thanks so much!  
  
To Sailor-Knight Shadowstar. Yeah... about that whole Kyo-getting-locked- up-on-graduation-day-and-the-juunishi-returning-to-the-main-house... I don't think I'll have that in this story. I've only watched the anime, and unless my memory is very spotty, I don't remember it ever mentioned (though if it was, I'll feel very silly). I don't feel like I know enough about the details to incorporate it into this story, so I'm not. If this will be a big deal, however, I could try to come up with an explanation as to why all the juunishi are all allowed to go on their merry ways. Thank you very much for your informative review! 


	4. Blanket Cloud Drop

Due to the lack of Kyo-ness in the previous chapter, this one is dedicated to him!  
  
Hooray for Kyo!  
  
Warnings for this chapter: This is swimming in Kyo's thoughts, and there is very little cohesive structure. Beware, it's deep in some places (or is supposed to be), and shallow in others. No diving!  
  
Chapter four: Blanket Cloud Drop  
  
The air was heavy with the sound of rain and discouraged any superfluous movement with its weight. At least, it seemed that way to Kyo Sohma as he laid his head heavily against the window, one arm dangling at his side and the other resting limply on his lap. He never really felt well in this sort of weather, and this evening was no exception. He couldn't even find the energy to climb to his favorite spot on the roof.  
  
Not that he wanted to. Besides not wanting to turn into a cat again, Kyo didn't really feel like getting soaked.  
  
This wouldn't have been so bad by itself, not having any energy, if Kyo's mind would only take on the same "blegh" attitude. But it wasn't. If anything, his mind was galloping on through mountains and valleys of thoughts and feelings with the intent of further exhausting Kyo through intensive thought processing.  
  
"Damned brain," Kyo thought darkly.  
  
Contrary to popular belief, Kyo had a lot to think about. Why else would he spend hours on the roof? Well, why would he spend hours on the roof besides sulking, which, surprisingly, didn't really take up that much time?  
  
There were always everyday worries: get food, get sleep, practice martial arts, avoid being the brunt of Shigure's jokes, insult Yuki and try not to insult Tohru. That took up a good amount of time. Occasionally, thoughts centered around the past. As of this moment, memories ranged from resting his head on the window now all the way back to resting his head on a different window, asking his mom why he couldn't go outside.  
  
"It's so sunny, can we go outside today?"  
  
"Why don't you sit here while I make breakfast?"  
  
"I don't want to. Can we go outside?"  
  
"Kyo, you're getting nose prints on the window. Sit over here."  
  
"I am not. Can we go outside? Can I?"  
  
"Will you sit over here, away from that window?"  
  
Kyo blinked, the brief moment of darkness startling the memory away. His eyes focused on the window for a moment, then outside on a blurry shadow. The absence of the memory left a blank space in his mind that was quickly being filled in with another thought.  
  
Graduation.  
  
Kyo didn't particularly like this new thought, because it brought up another subject he really didn't enjoy: the future. If it were any other day, Kyo would've popped up on his feet and gone downstairs to pick a fight with Yuki just then.  
  
His feet didn't respond.  
  
Damned feet. Never mind that Yuki wasn't here at the moment, anyway. He and Tohru and Shigure were all still visiting Yuki's college. Big happy fun, woo hoo.  
  
Kyo had never really expected to graduate. Hell, how could he? It was a miracle that he'd never been kicked out of school, what with all the fights he got into when he was still in the care of Kazuma-- the fights he used as an excuse to train. All he had ever planned was beating that damned rat. That was always his future.  
  
But now that was impossible, wasn't it? The fights between Yuki and himself were now more out of habit than anything. Kyo couldn't really tell himself with conviction that he hated Yuki anymore, and without that hatred, Kyo couldn't seem to put in the same energy behind his fighting.  
  
Damned rat.  
  
Ever since that night, after Kazuma had taken away the bracelet and before the sun rose, things had changed because Yuki, for some fucked up reason of his own, no doubt, came looking for him.  
  
Kyo was never going to forgive Yuki for taking that hatred away.  
  
Kyo's mind came to a halt at that thought, turned, and retraced its steps to the previous subject. While it did that, a more basic part of his brain, the part that described things in a way that wasn't truly emotion or thought, wondered why Kyo would never forgive Yuki but had already forgiven Tohru. Before his conscious mind was alerted, another part of his brain, also ancient but more connected to emotion, answered.  
  
Kyo's conscious mind may not have understood that answer if it had noticed, but his unconscious mind knew it made perfect sense.  
  
And now Kyo's conscious mind was back to the previous subject of graduating high school and to the subject that he had been avoiding:  
  
What was he going to do now that school was over?  
  
He wasn't going to college. Somehow, that didn't seem to suit him. He wasn't interested in becoming a rocket scientist or anything. Then again, working at the local supermarket as a bagger for the rest of his life didn't seem very appealing, either, which was what his math teacher threatened after Kyo had failed a third re-test. Kyo didn't want to work in a store, or a factory, or with adults, or with little kids or...  
  
Would Kazuma still let Kyo go back and live with him?  
  
"We're home!" a voice cried, her voice wafting up to the second floor.  
  
Kyo was about to shout something along the lines of, "Took you long enough. I'm starving," but it only came out as a muffled "mrrglshk." Kyo opened his eyes, now realizing that they had been closed. And it was dark, too. What time was it, anyway?  
  
"He's probably asleep," Shigure's voice said.  
  
"I guess we shouldn't have stopped by the grocery store," Tohru sighed. "Do you think he got something to eat?"  
  
"He can fend for himself," Shigure said in an assuring voice. "But as for Yuki and myself..."  
  
Kyo stood up rubbing his forehead and tried to yell something cohesive again. Didn't work, so he walked outside his room.  
  
"Oh, right! I'll go make something right now!"  
  
"Yo," Kyo croaked just before he missed a step and stumbled down the stairs, landing right at Yuki's feet. Yuki adjusted the grocery bag in his arm to look down on him.  
  
"Oh, Kyo! Are you okay?" Tohru asked in a panicked voice.  
  
"Is that what you call landing on your feet?" Yuki smirked.  
  
"I'll take you on, rat boy," Kyo mumbled to the floor. He thought about getting up, but really, this wasn't so uncomfortable, if he didn't mind the bump forming on his forehead where he had hit the ground.  
  
Damned rat. He'd deal with him tomorrow.  
  
~*~  
  
The rain had completely cleared by morning, and Tohru noticed with relief that Kyo was up to his usual chipper self.  
  
"We're out of milk," he growled loudly with his head still stuck in the fridge.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry," Tohru said apologetically. "I forgot to pick a carton last night."  
  
Kyo glanced back at her, his face slightly redder than normal. Well that was odd, Tohru thought, her head tilting to the side. Kyo must have gotten sunburned. No, that wasn't possible. It was raining yesterday. Huh, this was very odd.  
  
"Don't worry about it," Kyo stated, closing the refrigerator door behind him hurriedly. "I didn't really want milk anyway. You didn't buy anything decent for breakfast, did you?"  
  
"I can make you something if you want," Tohru said happily.  
  
"I can fend for myself," Kyo barked less-than-gruffly.  
  
"Oh! I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't! I just meant that if you wanted me to make something, it wouldn't be any trouble at all," Tohru said quickly.  
  
While Kyo tried to come up with a retort that was tough but not too mean, Yuki stumbled into the kitchen.  
  
"Oh, good morning, Yuki!" Tohru exclaimed. "You're up so early today."  
  
"Morning," Yuki mumbled. He took two steps forward, one back, and three at a tilt before he realized that the refrigerator was against the other wall. When he reached it at length, he leaned forward and stared at the inside for a good ten minutes in an unknown parody of Kyo yesterday. Finally, he stood up straight and faced Tohru.  
  
"Do we have..." he said, looking at her almost expectantly.  
  
Tohru stared at him blankly. He stared back up until the moment he blinked.  
  
"... coffee?" he finished.  
  
Tohru leaped into action.  
  
"Yes, I just finished making a pot. Do you want any milk in it? Oh, no, we don't have any milk, I forgot. I hope Shigure doesn't mind having it black, he usually likes cream in his, but we're out of that too, now that I think of it. Oh no! How could I have been so forgetful? I hope I remembered to buy sugar, at least."  
  
"Black coffee's good," Yuki said in an agreeable, sleepy tone.  
  
Kyo rolled his eyes and began scrounging in the cupboard. Though it was fun to see Yuki when he wasn't at his best, just looking at him made Kyo sleepy.  
  
"Here you are," Tohru said, handing Yuki a mug. "It may be a bit too hot, so be careful."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Do you want any, Kyo?" Tohru asked.  
  
"I hate coffee," he said. Then, smiling a little, he added, "It'll stunt my growth."  
  
"Okay," Tohru replied, grinning. "I'll just take the rest to Shigure. He was up very early working on his story."  
  
The moment she walked out the door, Kyo shot a glance at Yuki.  
  
"Don't even think about it," Yuki murmured without looking up. He tipped the coffee cup back against his lips and leaned against the nearest wall.  
  
"I wasn't," Kyo said defensively, looking back at the cupboard. Damn, there really wasn't anything to eat, was there?  
  
Well, there were always granola bars. Kyo grabbed one package and shut the cupboard door. Without gracing Yuki with a backward glance, Kyo walked over to the countertop and sat on it.  
  
"So?" Kyo said after he bit into the granola bar.  
  
If Yuki wasn't Yuki, he would've rolled his eyes. As it were, he did that thing where one blinks slowly before looking over. Kyo only knew of two people who could blink and look annoyed: Yuki and his former math teacher.  
  
"What?" Yuki asked.  
  
"So what was the college like?"  
  
Yuki looked up from his coffee.  
  
"What do you mean?" Yuki asked. He almost sounded surprised.  
  
Kyo scowled, affronted that he had to actually explain himself.  
  
"What do you mean, what do I mean?"  
  
"Exactly what I said," Yuki said after a brief pause. Obviously, this conversation was forcing him to wake up a bit too quickly, and his mind still wasn't functioning quite right.  
  
Kyo stuffed the last of the granola bar into his mouth  
  
"Forget it," he said. He jumped off the counter with the intention of going on the roof.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Yuki asked, his eyes narrowing.  
  
"I said, 'forget it.'"  
  
"I can't forget it if there's nothing to remember. What are you talking about?" Yuki asked. Yep, he was waking up, all right.  
  
Kyo, for once, didn't try to come up with a comeback. What was he talking about?  
  
~*~*~ flower power page break ~*~*~  
  
I had this nice long conversation between Yuki and Kyo, but I had to cut it out since it didn't fit in the story well. Rats. It was really good. Hopefully, I'll get to try again later.  
  
Appreciation:  
  
Thank you to ginny for another review. I'm so glad for your continued praise of this story.  
  
Thank you also to annonymouse. I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it didn't really answer your question.  
  
Thanks to Riyao Machrine, as well. I'm so glad you found this story, too! I guess I need to work on my summary, though. I never thought writing one was so hard! 


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